


In All The Lives I've Lived... (I always go back to you)

by thebsystem



Category: Guardians of Childhood & Related Fandoms, Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Bunnymund/Jack Frost if you squint, Canon-Typical Violence, De-possession of Kozmotis Pitchner, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Jack Frost/Kozmotis Pitchiner, Good Person Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood), Guardian of Childhood Pitch Black, Its more Kozmotis than Pitch, Jack Frost is Nightlight (Guardians of Childhood), Jack has neurodivergente tendencies, Kozmotis Pitchiner Returns, Kozmotis is a gentle man, Kozmotis is guardian of courage, Kozmotis is the Knight, M/M, POV Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), POV Third Person, Protective Guardians of Childhood, Protective Nicholas St. North, Slow Build, if you didn't read the books you'll still understand, jack is a gay disaster, movie compliant, past Kozmotis Pitchiner/Lady Pitchiner, past Nightlight/Katherine, pitch black redemption no one asked for, the guardians curse cause they deserve it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23637751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebsystem/pseuds/thebsystem
Summary: "Holy shit..." Jack watched as the last bits of black dissipated "Holy Shit!"He jumped up and down excitedly and laughed, as the adrenaline stopped coursing through his veins."I didn't know you could actually kill those things without Sandy's magic..."There was no comment."Pitch?..."The man didn't reply."Come on.." The guardian grumbled as he turned around. "Don't sulk now cause you helped the good gu-"Now Jack didn't know much, but he knew one thing for certain. The man in chains was not Pitch Black.//or//The sequel no one asked for that ties in the books and redeems Pitch, changing him back to Kozmotis.
Relationships: Jack Frost/Kozmotis Pitchiner, Jack Frost/Pitch Black, Kozmotis Pitchiner/Nightlight, Nightlight/Pitch Black
Comments: 39
Kudos: 229





	1. Calm before the Storm

Nothing could beat a nighttime flight, that was something Jack was sure of. The wind, the stars and most of all the moon shining down on him all brought a comfort he couldn’t quite describe. Yeah, the moon was still quiet as a mouse, (they hadn’t really talked since the whole “turning into a guardian ordeal”) but he kept in mind that Mim was there and, for some unknown reason, looking after him the best way he could.  
He hummed happily as the cold north pole air ruffled his hair. He zipped down before stopping abruptly. 

“Ah shit..” He muttered.

He had been out for more than 24 hours. When North had agreed to take him in, he had specifically said that he had to check in at least every 24 hours. Jack always figured it was the protective father in him trying to tame the rowdy teenager, either way, he complied anyway so he wouldn’t upset the kind man and still have a decent bed to sleep in at the end of the day. But it seems like not wearing a watch finally came back to kick him in the ass.  
He made a mental note to ask one of the Yeti’s to make him a stopwatch before promptly deciding to go in through the back. He continued the plummet downward, going through the winding tuneld of the takeoff track before touching down on the ground in front of the sled. He still found it impressive but other things about North surprised him more, like his father being time itself or the man even having a father in the first place, all things he had learned from the time spent with Saint Nick.  
And speaking of interesting discoveries, he had started learning so much more about the guardians too. The existence of other, more powerful forces such as Mother Nature, or how far back the guardians actually went. When he had first found out about it, he had hyper fixated on it for weeks. He went all around the world trying to find all he could about it. His fellow guardians had indulged in answering all his burning questions, North even letting him into the archives for the first time. However, it all only went back so far. When asked about what they remembered most of the guardians only remembered back to when Pitch was driven away and one of their old guardian group members had died saving Mother Goose. If Jack asked about said member, they just told him it was all too fuzzy and they couldn’t tell him anything for certain. He had tried contacting the protectors he didn’t know, but to no avail. After a while he just dropped the issue and contented himself with what he knew.  
Jack snuck his way through the tight passage into an almost peaceful workshop. Yes, there was still the hustle and bustle of the Yeti’s at work but things were calm, it being the start of the year. He walked to the kitchen determined to get a snack before hitting the hay to get the little hours of sleep he needed to function. He went for the fridge and got out a carton of milk. Just as the fridge door closed there was an overly dramatic clearing of the throat that made Jack jump. There, leaning on the door frame, arms crossed, was North.

“Hey… Jolly old Saint Nick!..” Jack said, dawning an awkward smile, trying to save his skin.

The older man was not amused.

“You’re late.” North gruffed. 

Jack sighed. 

“Look…” He rubbed the back of his neck not being able to look the man in the eyes. “...I’m sorry, I lost track of time. I was all over the world today and my time zones are all out of whack.” The boy pushed himself up to sit on the counter, opening the carton.

“Jack… you know I don’t give you many rules for your stay here but this one is important.” He paused and glanced between Jack and the carton “If you drink it straight from there you will sleep with the reindeer.”

Jack stopped half way through bringing the carton to his mouth 

“Okay! Okay!..” He hopped off the counter, setting the milk down and grabbing a glass. “ It’s the first offense, North, I really didn’t mean any harm!”

The elder guardian sighed and pushed off the door frame uncrossing his arms and walking towards the frost spirit. 

“I know you didn’t but I worry…” He picked up the milk and filled the cup the younger one held. “Pitch is still out there…” He set the carton down. “And you know he took a strange liking to you…” 

Jack found himself once again unable to look the man in the eye as he turned to lean on the counter. 

“You’re afraid he might come after me…”

“Yes, I don’t want you in that situation… You’re still very young, Jack, both being magical and a guardian…” North looked at the boy compassionately “I don’t want you alone with Pitch cau-”

“Cause I’m easy to trick…” Jack cut it, looking down at his milk in disappointment.

“No! No! That’s not at all what I meant, moy mal'chik…” Nicholas moved in front of the boy and rested his hands on his shoulder. “You are the strongest one out of all of us, Jack. And I know you are destined for great things, but I also know how much Pitch can get to you. He knows fear.. Better than anyone..”

Jack set the glass down and rubbed his forehead.

“I’m sorry… I know you just want what’s best for me…” He looked up at the man and gave him a smile. “Thanks… ya know.. For caring…”

North smiled back sweetly.

“Always…Just send a message if it happens again or you need to stay out for some reason.. Now..” He handed the boy his cup again “ Drink up and head to bed, you need your rest.”

Jack smiled, more sincerely this time.

“Yeah yeah.. Alright” The white haired boy downed the milk before walking to the doorway. “Goodnight!”  
“Goodnight, Jack.” North said with a chuckle and a wave.

Jack smiled and gave a small salut before letting himself hover. He flew up to his room and let himself fall onto the bed. He buried his face into the soft sheets and thanked whatever force out there made Santa Claus so nice. He sighed, rolled over and looked up at his ceiling. It had been two years since everything had gone down and there had been no sign of Pitch. How could North still be worried? It was perhaps years of caution and old man wisdom all rolled into one. From what he knew, it seems like Pitch had disappeared and returned many times before.  
Trying not to let all that worry him too much, Jack let himself drift off.  
~  
_It was dark… and cold… too cold... even for him..  
Jack looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark place. And as they did there was shock. Dark shadows creeped along the walls as taunting whispers repeated sentences and he was struck with an overwhelming guilt. He tried to talk, tried to move but he wasn’t in control of his body.  
His head turned, following the steady strum coming from the shadows. He turned and there was a figure trapped in a cocoon like capsule, shadows keeping the person there. He took a few steps and watched as the shadows enveloping the space would dissipate from him, almost like light vanquishing them.  
His body felt heavy. The weight of something… clothing… armor on his body. He looked back at the figure. It was a man… and a man he knew… a man he knew well…  
He started to run. He didn’t know where he was or who the man was but he felt the need to get to him.  
But the whispers soon became more. Soon became louder. Overwhelming. He saw the man struggle, trying to fight the shadows.  
The whisper became louder and louder, now demonic screams. Jack covered his ears, closing his eyes, wanting it to go away.  
He heard the man scream. An all too familiar scream._  
~  
Jack woke in a cold sweat, gasping for air, tears brimming his eyes. 

“What the fuck..?” He muttered under his breath.

It was a dream. He knew that. But it didn’t feel like one. It felt too real. Like he had lived that. Maybe not now, but before. A long time ago. Like something forgotten, begging to be remembered and fast.  
He winced as a migraine hit him and rubbed his temples trying to easy the pain. He leaned back in his bed and closed his eyes. He definitely wouldn’t be able to get to sleep after that but he could at least wait for the headache to pass before heading back to work.


	2. Unraveling Perfection

It wasn’t bizzare for Tooth to call on Jack especially during more snowy times. They usually sort out their schedules so none of the Baby Tooths get caught in the cross hairs of one of Jack’s blizzards.  
He hummed a random tune as he dipped into Tooth Palace and tried his best to avoid the busy fairies aggressively zipping through the air, busily working. He headed to the mid plaza where Tooth was frantically giving orders to all the little ones. He touched down.

“Wow… you really don’t get a break huh?” Jack said, leaning on his staff.

The guardian jumped at the sound of his voice and smiled.

“Jack!” She sighed. “You scared me!”

“Sorry, sorry! What’s up?” He asked, walking towards her.

“Nothing really, I just wanted to check in on you. Making sure you’re keeping to our agreement.” She gave him a knowing look. “And that you’re not overworking.”

He smiled at her worry. 

“Yeah, I’ve been behaving.”

“Good.” she said going back to rapidly handing fairies the teeth containers. “I don’t want my fairies to find you passed out again..”

Jack sighed and looked down embarrassed. He remembered that time. It was the winter after everything went down and he had been working just a little too hard. He was passing over Sweden when he had blacked out and fallen from the sky. A Baby Tooth had found him and gotten help to carry him to the others. He had woken up to a (completely useless) ice pack on his head and a crowd of worried guardians all begging for an explanation. It was at that time that, between scholding and reprimanding him, North had offered him a place to sleep.

“That won’t happen again. Promise.” He finally got the courage to look at her again. “Not with all of you acting like mother hens.”

Tooth chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“We worry cause we care for you.”

“I know. I know.” Jack said, walking towards the edge of the place. “Anyway, gotta go give some kids a snow day.”

“Alright.” Toothina said with a smile. “Just be careful.”

“I will!” He shouted letting himself fall, wind catching him safely. 

He let himself travel, spreading his magic where it was needed before returning to the comfort of that quiet town he had always adored.   
It was nighttime but well into the AM hours. Sandy was long gone so Jack contented himself with walking on roof edges and looking down at the sleeping children. He walked a couple blocks, hoping to get a look at the peaceful sleeping face of the first kid that had seen him. However, when he got there, he was greeted instead by Jamie by his open window, elbows propped up on the sill, chin in his hands, eyelids fluttering sleepily. Jack floated down to him.

“Hey kiddo…” He said in a soft voice, trying not to startle the boy. His effort failed but a smile did dawn on the younger’s face.

“Oh.. Hey Jack..” Jamie mumbled with a yawn. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you, is all.” The guardian answered, taking his first good look at the boy.

He looked tired, and not the childish tired he would get when it was past his bedtime (Jamie had long since grown out of that, now being an almost preteen as he would say). He had bags under his eyes which in turn were puffy and slightly red. His lips were chapped and Jack guessed, by the way he was basically halfway to dreamland, that the kid hadn’t slept well in nights.  
As the boy hummed in response, Jack extended a hand to stroke a thumb softly over the underside of Jamie’s eye.

“You okay, Jamie?” He asked as the boy pulled away from him slightly.

“Fine!” He responded, straightening himself up. “Perfectly fine..”

Jack doubted that that was true and it must have shown on his face because all the composure the 10-year-old had tried to fein fell with a sigh.

“I.. I haven’t been sleeping…” He finally confessed, slumping over again.

Jack moved to sit on the windowsill and patted the spot next to his. Jamie climbed up and sat down, letting his feet dangle out the window. 

“Is it..?” 

“No!” The boy said, a little too quick. “I mean, Yes?... Well, Sorta…”

“Is it... The memories?” Jack asked, moving closer to the kid.

“No.. it’s like…” Jamie fiddled with his hands as he spoke “It’s not vivid dreams.. It’s not memories either.. I don’t see anything really… It’s more just..” He paused “..fear…”

“Fear?” Jack said, tensing up, as if the wind had blown colder.

“Yeah.. Just fear. It just overwhelms me and I wake up..” The boy had tears forming in his eyes. “There’s no reason for it.. It’s dumb. I’m sorry you probably have more important Guardian things to worry ab-”

“Hey. Hey. Jamie..” Jack said holding the kid’s shoulders and turning the boy to face him. “This is guardian stuff.. Fear is not dumb, there’s a reason for it.”

Jamie hugged the frost spirit tightly, burying his face in the comforting blue sweater. Jack held him, pulling him into his lap and moving to hold his face.

“There’s a reason for it. And we’ll figure it out, okay?” Jack said reassuringly, wipe the boy’s damp cheeks. “But for now…”

He moved Jamie to a more comfortable position in his lap, arms tightly around him, resting the ten year old’s head on his chest.

“Sleep..” He whispered. “Nothing can get to you. No boogeyman, no fear, no nothing.”

The boy nodded and curled himself against Jack, eyelids already heavy with sleep. Jack smiled looking down at him and leaning on the side of the window.

“I got you, kid…”

It took about two minutes for Jamie to completely fall asleep. When the guardian was sure moving him wouldn’t wake him, he placed him back in bed and tucked him in, determined to find an answer.  
He jumped off the window and let the somewhat furious wind take him towards the forest.  
North would disapprove of this, oh, that he was sure of. But as he landed in that half decaying clearing and walked towards the remains of that rickety old wooden bed, he honestly didn’t care. He had gone into “Guardian Mode” (as Bunny had teasingly dubbed whenever Jack got serious). He looked down the hole and felt something lodged in his throat. He shook his head, determined and gulped down whatever had been stopping him. Holding his breath, he jumped into it.  
It was eerily quiet as the spirit waited for his eyes to adjust. When they did though, it wasn’t much better. It looked deserted, abandoned, lifeless. He took a shake step forward.

“Pitch?” He called out, voice threatening to betray him and falter. His voice echoed and the uneasy feeling grew. No answer. He called out again.

“Pitch?!”

Again, there was no answer. He sighed and realized he would have to go in farther. He took slow steps, white knuckles gripping his staff, taking deep breaths and venturing through. Slowly, it got darker. The lights dimmed and it was harder to see, but Jack kept going. He must have been so focused on getting his legs to move that he didn’t notice when the hallway he had trekked down had been completely engulfed in shadows. He froze. He couldn’t see anything. He looked back and saw the small trickle of light farther away then he had thought. A chill went down his spine and he got a queasy feeling. Something wasn’t right.  
Looking at the darkness in front of him, he blinked to make sure fear wasn’t messing with him. The darkness was… moving… breathing… With shaky arms, he braced his staff and raised it before bringing it down onto the ground hard.   
The darkness parted but with it came a stampede of what Jack could only describe as horrid shadows. They rushed over him with a powerful gust of wind that would’ve blown him off his feet if he hadn’t been paralyzed. Paralyzed with fear.  
The horde rushed out the tunnel and towards the small light leaving Jack to shake, tears starting to rush down his face. He screamed, desperate to get all the uncontrollable terror out. It rattled him and he fell to his knees, sobs choking out the desperate cry.   
He stayed there, tremors consuming him, for who knows how long. He could swear that he’d never felt that in his life, but that would be a lie. Deep down, in some primal, ancient part of him, he had. And it was after the fear partially left, that the other bygone emotions crashed over him. Sorrow, Longing, Guilt, Remorse, it all made him sob once more.  
He could’ve stayed there, for hours, wallowing in alien yet familiar emotions but something pulled him out. A small groan. His head shot up.

“Pitch…?” He said wiping the tears from his face and shakily getting to his feet. Using his staff for support, he followed the direction of the sound.  
He stumbled out of the hall and into a small round room. He winced and covered his eyes as the glow of the walls hit his retinas. In the middle was a figure. He rushed towards it but stopped as he noticed the same living gloom enveloped them. 

_he felt the need to get to him_

“Pitch?...” He tried once more. This time there was a groan in response. The figure lifted his head.  
It was Pitch, or at least Jack thought. His skin seemed to be falling away, revealing a tan underside. His eyes were swirling with green, something Pitch would be caught dead in. And that dreaded darkness, trapping him.  
He looked up and sheer panic swept his face.

“What are you doing here?!” He cried out in desperation. “It’s not safe! You need to leave!”

Jack stuttered as the darkness began to stir, getting riled up.

“Go! Please! Before they get you!” The supposed Pitch cried out at the guardian “Please! Ni-”

He couldn’t finish as the darkness attacked covering and sticking to the man, drowning him. Jack couldn’t get his legs to move as the man disappeared. Even then, when those sickly yellow eyes shone through, that wicked smile formed and the booming laugh echoed through the many halls, Jack bolted out of there, not looking back. His heart beat out of his chest and he gasped for air as he barely flew through the narrow exit and out into the night sky. He had been looking for an answer, but he only had more questions.


	3. The Start of Something

He barely had time to let the cool air help him regain his thoughts because when he looked up at the sky he saw them. The northern lights. The summoning tool for the guardians.   
He rushes back to the north, wind whipping against his face from the speed. He tried his best to keep calm but, after the display he had just seen, his mind could only race with what possibly could have caused the guardians to need to gather.   
He flew through the open roof of the workshop also running into the elves that were busily trying to serve cookies to the guests. When Jack finally got his feet on his ground, his eyes darted around trying to read the room.   
It didn’t seem like any of the guardians were in any hurry or that this meeting was urgent in any way. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and let his shoulders relax.  
Bunnymund took note of this and walked towards him, sugar cookie in one hand.  
“You alright, mate?” He asked standing in front of Jack, large body blocking his view from everything else.  
Bunny tended to do this. He knew it helped Jack calm down and come back to himself whenever he felt overwhelmed.   
Jack nodded and let his head drop so it was leaning on the rabbit’s chest. He focused on catching his breath as a furry paw came to rest on the back on his head, stroking his hair softly.  
None of the surrounding people seemed to bat an eye to this, it was quite typical of Bunnymund to be seen comforting Jack. When the initial confrontation and teasing between them had died down, they had realized they quite enjoyed each other’s company. They would spend a lot of time together since both of them traveled around the world a lot. It was clear to see that the two had a sort of bond.  
When Jack pulled away (Bunny always let him regulate how long these moments lasted), he nodded again.

“Yeah..yeah!” He shook himself out and exhaled heavily “I guess I just got concerned when I saw the lights.”

Bunny smiled at him and let out a softy hum, finishing the cookie he had kept in his hand.

“Well, no one seems alarmed or extremely jittery, so I think it’s just pleasantries.”

Jack smiled at him and walked towards the center of the room.

“Who called this meeting anyway?”

“I did!” Tooth replied, flying forward. “I just… my fairies have been noticing something and it’s been concerning me.”

North motioned towards the table they had recently acquired. It was round, with five seats (but room for more) and a hole in the center where the crystal could rise, not that it had been needed lately. They all sat down, Bunnymaud with his feet up, Sandy sitting crisscrossed on the chair, and the other older two sitting normally. Jack opted to sit on the table, one leg up on his chair and the other dangling off, leaning on his staff.

Sandman jingled and looked at Tooth as a question mark appeared above his head.

“Um…” She started, hands a little shaky as concern grew in all of the others. “My fairies have been reporting some things to me, like I said, that have just made me feel off…”

“Off how, Tooth?” North questioned, leaning towards her stroking his beard.

“Just... It started with one report than another and pretty soon almost half of the kids in the North American region were doing it…”

“Doing what?...” 

It was Bunny who asked this time, taking his feet off of the table with his ears perking up. 

“Waking up!” She said, a hint of distress in her voice, hands waving as she spoke “Just bolting up, suddenly, with no warning, in the middle of the night. Some scream, some cry, others just shake and stay there, but there’s always no warning. They’re fine then they’re not!”

Sandy intervened this time, jingling sounding through the hall as he symbolized that he’d noticed it a few times too. He would always just put them back to sleep with pleasant dreams and not think much of it. It was typical for kids to feel scared in the night.

“But it’s not normal… This isn’t… I…” You could tell she was struggling to get the words out. “ I got worried so I decided to go around and see for myself… I was at this little girl’s house, she couldn’t have been more than four… She’s just sleeping soundly in her unicorn bed, peaceful. I’m about to leave and she... She bolts upright and-”

Tooth choked up, tears gleaming in her eyes. One of North’s hands rests on her shoulder reassuringly, as he trades looks with the others. Jack shifts in his place, one leg coming up to rest on the table.

“I’m okay… I’m okay…” She finally says, wiping her eyes. She takes a deep breath and straightens herself up. “She bolts upright and screams… And- Mim be safe- I had never heard anything like it… just pure terror.”

North shifted back to his seat and put his hands together.

“So… Pitch is back?”

“No…” Jack couldn’t stop as the word came out, getting all the guardians to look at him. “I mean… That’s not what they were saying or so it seems…” He cleared his throat and moved to completely be on the table. “Were there any signs of nightmare activity?...”

Both Tooth and Sandy shook their head.

“No there isn’t… They’re just sleeping peacefully then suddenly not… There’s no shifting, no discomfort just…”

“Fear…” Jack finished her thought, looking at this staff intently. When he looked up again, all the guardians were looking at him, Tooth nodding with approval. 

“Uh... I visited Jamie earlier and he told me basically the same thing…”

Bunny’s foot thumped on the floor and his ear twitched.

“This could be Pitch still… It absolutely could! I mean fe-”

“It’s not Pitch!” Jack said, suddenly feeling very defensive. He pressed his lips together knowing whatever he was about to say was digging his own grave. “I know it wasn’t…”

“How?” North asked, leaning forward, frown already forming. Jack could already feel the disappointment.

“I… I may have visited the entrance of his hideout…”He mumbled shyly. They didn’t have to know about him actually going in, he thought, and all the confusing emotions that came along with it.

Immediately there was a chorus of disappointed rants and reprimands from the collection of older guardians (although it was just aggressive jingling on Sandy’s part). Jack covered his ears and made a pained face, jumping off the table to stand behind it.

“Hey. Hey! HEY!” He shouted, getting all the others to quiet down. They all shot him disapproving glances as he continued. “When Jamie told me, I got worried. So… I decided to go check. Gotta be a guardian right?”

“But Jack…” Tooth said, standing. “It’s dangerous! What if he was there?”

Jack winced and rolled on the balls of his feet extending his arms.

“I’m fine… See? Besides… I can safely say it wasn’t him!” He sat back down and so did Tooth. “He- It just… it felt off… like he wasn’t there..”

Bunny was growing more impatient by the second. 

“So if it wasn’t Boogy fearland, who was it?” He edged on, twirling a boomerang in his hand for comfort. “Some creature or unknown force?”

“A new player perhaps?” North stroked his beard again, thinking over the possibility.

“Whatever it is… we’re completely in the dark about it and Jack disproved our best lead?” Bunnymaud shot the younger one a look that said ‘we’ll talk later’. “We’re stuck. We’ve got nothing!” 

Just as he finished his remark a rare but familiar light shone into the hall. Jack smiled as he flew up, looking at the moon now moving into view.

“Manny!” He exclaimed, ecstatic as any feeling of fear suddenly felt lightyears away. “You have something to say?”

The light slowly shone over Jack as the other guardians watched. He seemed to be glowing, clothes and hair lighting up. It only lasted a moment though as the beam quickly moved to the table. Shadows flashed fast as they tried their best to make out what they were. 

Shadowbeings (ones Jack recognized too well), a prison, a little girl, a man, a staff, a heart, and an armor helmet.

“What… what’s that supposed to mean old friend?” North asked looking up. Like usual, there was no response but instead, the crystal started to rise from the ground.

North smiled pridefully and eyed Bunny.

“See... I told you the hole was a good idea!”

The rabbit scoffed as he moved closer to the center. 

“It’s a big deal, I see.” 

“ Another guardian?” Tooth said excitedly. “I wonder…”

The crystal lit up as the beam shone down on it, a shape taking form.

“Whoever it is… They’ll help.” Reassured North. “Just like we learned from Jack.

Jack smiled at the older man and looked back at the crystal only for his smile to drop. 

There, in the shape of it, the supposed new guardian….

...was Pitch Black.


	4. Catching a Sinnerman

There were cries of outrage that Jack figured would be heard in the south pole. He covered his ears again and moved away from the angry flailing guardians, focusing on the crystal.

“Guys…” He said, upon closer inspection. The shouting didn’t stop. “Guys!” It all continued. Jack flew above them and took a deep breath.

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!”

The shock came over all of their faces as they looked up. He slowly floated down and pointed at the crystal with his staff.

“That’s the new guardian.”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Bunnymaud, foot pounding furiously on the ground, nostrils flaring. “It’s fucking Pitch. Now-” he turned and pointed an accusatory finger at the moon. “-I’ve played along and I’ve listened but I don’t know what shit you’re pulling-”

“Look at it!” Urged Jack “Really look at it! Does that look like Pitch?”

“Yes!” North replied automatically then looking closer. “Wait… No.”

“Is that armor? He’s never worn armor!” said Toothina, inspecting closer as well.

“And a sword! And-and medals of honor!” continued Jack “It might look like him but I really don’t think it is!”

Aster turned up his nose: “Sure as hell looks healthier than normal.”

Jack nodded, eyes fixed on the man-that-might-not-be-pitch-black, an almost familiar figure. At a certain point, they were all looking, trying to understand. No one knew what to do. There was a long moment of silence as it set in that something about the previous malicious figure was going to change or hate to, at least. 

Sandy jingled cautiously up at North, asking for leadership.

“I… I don’t know Sandy…” He replied, fiddling with his belt. “Moony’s never been wrong. He’s always handpicked every single one of us…” 

“What are you saying?!” Bunny asked with indignity “That we go talk to the bastard?”

North started to nod and Aster just got angrier.

“No! No way! We are not going to have a nice chat over tea and biscuits with that monster!” 

Jack felt a rush of defensiveness swell in his chest at the word “monster”. 

“Bunnymund!” He snapped and the other’s expression dropped, replaced with shock. Jack stumbled to regain his composure. “I mean… we should give it a chance, right? MiM knows what he’s doing…”  
North let a soft smile slip in Jack’s direction before putting on his serious leader face. 

“Alright, Bunny and I will go capture Pitch. Sandy, make sure to stay on top of any children who wake up because of the fear. Tooth, I need you to go to Santoff Claussen and find Katharine, maybe see if Ombric has anything that can help in the library.”

“The safe haven for dreamers? Can I go?” Jack, who had been waving Sandy goodbye as he left, looked at Tooth, excitement in his eye. He’d recently heard of the small town that housed some of the other guardians and, previously, Saint Nick himself, but he hadn’t had the time to visit yet. 

“It’s going to be business, Jack.” She smiled, apologetically “I promise you can visit some other time, so you can look around properly.” 

With that, she zipped off. Jack nodded and sat, cross-legged on-air, watching all the guardians gather their things.

“Can I go with you two then?”

North and Bunny both looked up at him. Aster drew in a breath.

“Are you sure, mate? We’re gonna be-”

“Yes, dealing with Pitch, I know! But I want to be a guardian, it’s my job! I can handle myself!” Jack said, letting out an irritated huff.

The older two traded a look as North prepared a snow globe. He then nodded and threw the globe, walking through it with Bunny following. Jack smiled triumphantly and went through the portal.   
They arrived at the entrance and Jack sucked his lip in, remembering the earlier events. The three men stood there for a while, eyeing the hole in the ground. North took a breath and started forward, entering cautiously. Jack took it as a sign to move and followed, only to be stopped by a furred paw on his shoulder. 

“Be careful…” Bunny urged him. Jack just nodded in response and walked in.

Jack’s stomach dropped as the started fear set in again. He could tell the others felt it too, Bunny had his fur on end and North his hands on his sabers. They kept walking, through the winding halls and rooms of the seemingly abandoned underground hideout. At a certain point, Jack stopped, knowing the way to where he had seen Pitch earlier. He needed to find that place again, but he couldn’t explain how he knew to go down that specific path and they would never believe that it was just a gut feeling. He was already in enough trouble as it was.

“I’ll check down here!” He called out and flew down the hall before the other guardians could protest. 

He retraced his steps from earlier and choked on a whimper as the fear grew. Part of him wanted to turn around and get out of there, dreading the terror he knew would come with another ambush of whatever those creatures were. 

“Pitch!?” He called out, touching down carefully, staff at the ready. 

There was a choked sound that echoed through the halls. He followed the sound and the increasing fear. The darkness started to writhe and move the further he went in. Jack did all he could to avoid touching the horrible things that made his skin crawl. Another distressed cry led Jack to the dreaded room and it was a nightmare scene. The living darkness engulfing the supposedly-pitch-man, a single tan shaded arm extending in a cry for help. Before it all could paralyze him again, The guardian shoot forward and grabbed the arm, trying to pull out the man. As soon as they touched, all the emotions flooded back and tears filled his eyes again. He pushed through it though, something inside his brain chanting to get the man out as he tugged on his arm. This resulted in the darkness stirring and trying to engulf him as well. Panic took over as he whipped his staff trying to push the shadows away but much to no avail. In a final desperate attempt, he brought the staff down between both of them, letting out a scream. A flash of light erupted from the staff and the shadows screeched and raced away. Jack caught the man as he fell, his own body feeling limp and frail. “Pitch” looked up at him completely disheveled and not quite altogether, tried to speak but his voice gave out.

“Okay...Okay...Pitch? Just hold onto me...” Jack said, out of breath, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. 

He started out of the hall calling out to the other guardian always looking back to check if anything was following them. He kept calling out, checking on the man as well. Eventually North and Aster rushed to his side, carrying what looked like a necklace.

“Jack, look! We fou-Is that Pitch?!” Bunny asked as the weary man extended his hand for the locket.

“Fuck if I know!” Jack said in a panic as the man grabbed the piece of jewelry. 

That small action seemed to set off the beasts that crawled the walls as they all suddenly swarmed to the man, the impact and fear sending all three guardians back. Jack gasped as the terror set in and he watched the man morph back into his worst fear.

“Hello, guardians…” chuckled the chilling voice as eyes shone gold.


End file.
